Israel controls 40% of Gaza City, a military spokesperson has said, as its bombardment forced more Palestinians from their homes there, while thousands of residents defied Israeli orders to leave, remaining behind in the ruins in the path of Israel's latest advance.
Gaza health authorities said Israeli fire across the enclave had killed at least 53 people today mostly in Gaza City, where Israeli forces have advanced through the outer suburbs and are now a few kilometres from the city centre.
As concern grows over the dire humanitarian conditions for Gaza's population of more than two million, one of the European Union's top officials called the war a "genocide" - a term strongly rejected by Israel, but which several governments and numerous rights groups have adopted.
In a televised briefing, Israeli military spokesman Brigadier General Effie Defrin said that "we hold 40% of the territory of Gaza City", adding that the offensive "will continue to expand and intensify in the coming days".
Defrin vowed to "increase the pressure" on Palestinian militant group Hamas, whose October 2023 attack on Israel sparked the war, "until it is defeated".
With the vast majority of Gazans already displaced at least once during the war, a senior Israeli military official told journalists on Wednesday that authorities expected the new offensive to push an estimated one million Palestinians south, away from Gaza City.
The United Nations last month declared a famine in and around Gaza City, where it estimates nearly one million people live.
European Commission vice president Teresa Ribera called the war a "genocide", ramping up criticism of Israel and slamming the EU for failing to act to stop it.
"The genocide in Gaza exposes Europe's failure to act and speak with one voice," Ms Ribera said during a speech in Paris.
Top EU officials have so far shied away from calling Israel's actions in the territory a genocide.
One spokesman said it was for the courts to make a legal judgment on whether genocide was happening.
The EU has struggled to take steps over the war in Gaza due to deep divisions between member states pushing for action against Israel and those backing the country.
The splits are also present inside the EU's executive, where Spanish commissioner Ribera has expressed frustration over the failure to push on the issue.
Ms Ribera's use of the term genocide could put more pressure on EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen to take a tougher stance against Israel.
Ms von der Leyen's commission in July proposed cutting funding to Israeli start-ups over the war in Gaza, but so far the move has not got the backing of a majority of countries.
Pope Leo raises 'tragic situation in Gaza' with Herzog
Pope Leo has discussed the "tragic situation in Gaza" during a meeting with Israeli President Isaac Herzog and called for a permanent ceasefire in the Palestinian enclave, the Vatican said.
The pontiff also called for the release of the remaining hostages held by the Palestinian militant group Hamas, the statement said, and reiterated the Vatican's support for a two-state solution to the decades-long Israel-Palestinian conflict.
"A prompt resumption of negotiations was hoped for...to secure the release of all hostages, urgently achieve a permanent ceasefire, facilitate the safe entry of humanitarian aid into the most affected areas, and ensure full respect for humanitarian law," said the statement.
Mr Herzog had earlier thanked Leo for the meeting in a post on X, and said he had received a "warm welcome" at the Vatican.
"Religious leaders and all who choose the path of peace must stand together in calling for the immediate release of the hostages as a first and essential step toward a better future for the entire region," said the president.
The Vatican did not immediately release further details about the meeting and did not say how long Leo and Mr Herzog had spent together.
The Vatican released photos of the leaders greeting each other in the Vatican's apostolic palace. In one image, the two stand posing side-by-side, neither smiling.
Leo, elected by the world's cardinals in May to replace the late Pope Francis, has in the past taken a more cautious tone than Francis when speaking about Israel's military campaign in Gaza.
Francis, who had led the Church for 12 years, had become a frequent critic of Israel. He suggested a study into whether Israel was committing genocide against the Palestinian people, which sparked sharp criticism from Israeli officials.
Leo has recently stepped up his calls for a halt to the war in Gaza. Last week, he issued what he called a "strong appeal" for an end during his weekly public audience.
Today's release from the Vatican was notably longer than usual for statements about the pope's meeting with foreign leaders, which typically only offer a few lines of information and do not give specific details about the topics discussed by the pope.
Bombardment pushes more Palestinians out of homes
Israeli bombardment has pushed more Palestinians out of their homes in Gaza City, while thousands of residents defied Israeli orders to leave, remaining behind in the ruins in the path of Israel's latest advance.
Gaza health authorities said Israeli fire across the enclave had killed at least 53 people, most of them in Gaza City, where Israeli forces have advanced through the outer suburbs and are now a few kilometers from the city centre.
Israel launched the offensive in Gaza City on 10 August, in what Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says is a plan to defeat Hamas militants once and for all in the part of Gaza where Israeli troops fought most heavily in the war's initial phase.
The campaign has prompted international criticism because of the dire humanitarian crisis in the area, and has provoked unusual expressions of concern within Israel, including accounts of tension over strategy between some military commanders and political leaders.
"This time, I am not leaving my house. I want to die here. It doesn't matter if we move out or stay. Tens of thousands of those who left their homes were killed by Israel too, so why bother?" Um Nader, a mother of five from Gaza city, said.
Residents said Israel bombarded Gaza city's Zeitoun, Sabra, Tuffah, and Shejaia districts from ground and air. Tanks pushed into the eastern part of the Sheikh Radwan district northwest of the city centre, destroying houses and causing fires in tent encampments.
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In heavy bombardment in the Tuffah neighbourhood, medics said five houses were damaged by Israeli strikes that killed eight people and wounded dozens of others.
"The Israeli occupation targeted a gathering of civilians and several homes in the Mashahra area of the Tuffah neighbourhood - a fire belt that completely destroyed four buildings," said Mahmoud Bassal, spokesperson of the territory's civil emergency service.
"Even if the Israeli occupation issues warnings, there are no places that can accommodate the civilians; there are no alternate places for the people to go to."
There was no immediate Israeli comment on those reports. The Israeli military has said it is operating on the outskirts of the city to dismantle militants' tunnels and locate weapons.
Much of Gaza city was laid to waste in the war's initial weeks in October-November 2023. About a million people lived there before the war, and hundreds of thousands are believed to have returned to live among the ruins, especially since Israel ordered people out of other areas and launched offensives elsewhere.
Israel, which has now told civilians to leave Gaza city again for their safety, says 70,000 have done so, heading south. Palestinian officials say less than half that number have left, and many thousands are still in the path of Israel's advance.
'Most dangerous displacement' of the war
Displacement could further endanger the most vulnerable, including many children suffering from malnutrition, said Amjadal-Shawa, head of the Palestinian NGOs Network, an umbrella group of Palestinian NGOs that coordinates with the UN and international humanitarian agencies.
"This is going to be the most dangerous displacement since the war started," said Shawa. "People's refusal to leave despite the bombardment and the killing is a sign that they have lost faith."
Palestinian and UN officials say there is no safe place in Gaza, including areas Israel designates humanitarian zones.
Health officials in Gaza say 370 people, including 131 children, have so far died of malnutrition and starvation caused by acute food shortages, most in recent weeks. Israel says it is taking measures to improve the humanitarian conditions in Gaza, including increasing aid into the enclave.
Israeli attacks have killed more than 63,000 Palestinians since October 2023, most of them civilians, according to local health officials, and left much of the territory in ruins.
The current stage of the war began on 7 October 2023, when gunmen led by Hamas attacked southern Israel, killing some 1,200 people, most of them civilians, and taking 251 hostages into Gaza, according to Israeli tallies.
Prospects for a ceasefire and a deal to release the remaining 48 hostages, 20 of whom are thought to still be alive, appear dim.
Protests in Israel calling to end the war and reach a deal to release the hostages have intensified in the past few weeks.
